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For Special Services
by John Gardner
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Berkley (1983-04-01)
ISBN: 0425058603
EAN: 9780425058602
Paperback
SKU: 949
Condition: Good
Comments: Binding: Softcover. Condition: Good. Some slight discoloration on front cover. Slightly creased binding.
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Customer Reviews
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A disservice to Fleming
Rating  (1)
Date: 2005-02-14
3 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
The late Charles Schulz, creator of the beloved Peanuts comic strip, stipulated before his demise that he did not want anyone taking over the strip once he was gone. After observing the downhill path James Bond has taken since the death of Ian Fleming, one can appreciate why an artist or writer would wish to take such steps to protect his or her creations.
After reading a few of the John Gardner James Bond novels, I was left with the feeling that Gardner had no respect for the privilege of continuing the series from Ian Fleming.
Immediately upon inheriting James Bond, Gardner trashed much of what was so identifiable with the Bond persona: his gun, his car, etc.
Imagine Bond favoring a Saab Turbo instead of his beloved battleship grey Bentley and you see what I mean.
Further, the attempt to contemporize Bond and place him in up-to-date settings, yet with all his past still intact, of course results in the dilemma of Bond being an old man by now. If Bond was in his mid to late thirties during the fifties, when Fleming first established the character, then that would make Bond in his sixties or seventies by the 1980's when Gardner wrote this book.
Gardner established this awkward precedent and Raymond Benson, who took over from Gardner, has continued it to the present day.
Imagine a writer taking over the Sherlock Holmes character from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and trying to keep him contemporary, requiring the reader to accept that Holmes would be well over 100 years by now and you get the idea.
Instead of dealing with the problem in a believable way, or better yet, by preserving the character of Bond in his proper, historical Cold War setting, Gardner did neither. Instead, he embraced the inherent flaw of a modern Bond and elevated it to a laughable level.
Consider: in this novel, we are to believe a young voluptuous agent named Cedar Leiter would be throwing herself at Bond. Yes, believe it or not, this is the daughter of Bond's CIA buddy Felix Leiter (But hey, what are friends for?)
Perhaps even more charming, Bond scores with the daughter of his former nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the man who murdered Bond's only wife, and whom Bond had killed way back when in "You Only Live Twice."
In spite of his advanced years, Gardner's Bond has not lost a step on the two-dimensional, action-hero version of the cinema. Gardner's super-Bond can still physically outperform his antagonists and still get any woman he wants - including the girls of his friends and enemies alike apparently - all while being a senior citizen.
And speaking of women, we get a reprise of "Q'ute," the femme fatale who apparently took over for Q, a character who has more to do with Bond films than Bond literature. Fleming referred to Q Branch in his JB novels, but never identified a character as "Q". Imagine Fleming creating a character like "Q'ute". This should let you know how quickly Gardner became bankrupt for ideas by the time of this Bond novel - only his second in the series!
At any rate, such devices tell you all you need to know about this book: the message Gardner clearly sends is that he doesn't take seriously the character of Bond, nor the world Ian Fleming created for him. So neither should you.
For the reviewers who raved about this book, I can only say they probably can't wait until Bond is pushing ninety and he can begin doing it with the grandaughters of Rene Mathis or Auric Goldfinger.
Ironically, the title, "For Special Services" is based upon a special event in the life of Ian Fleming. However, if the book was intended to be a tribute to the late Mr. Fleming, Gardner failed terribly. He does Mr. Fleming and his creation an especially poor disservice.
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For Special Services returns a well known villian, SPECTRE!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-07-24
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is without a doubt Gardner's finest work. SPECTRE has returned under the leadership of Nena Blofeld. Markus Bismaquer is a formidable villian and Cedar Leiter shines as a bond girl. What can anyone find wrong with this book? It is a masterpiece!
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GREAT-One of the best Bond books ever!
Rating  (4)
Date: 2002-06-24
After reading Ian Fleming's Bond Books and Raymond Benson's novelizations of the movies, this almost top it all. SPECTRE is brought back into play after almost 30 years of absence. Gardner does an exquisite job of re-creating Ian Fleming's style. Plus a great twist at the ending. This should be a movie.
The only problem was the SAAB, who drives a Saab?
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Second Time Makes For Great Bond
Rating (4)
Date: 2001-11-27
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
"For Special Services", John Gardner's second James Bond novel, improves on the first as he builds a tale of mystery and almost constant suspense. This time, Bond is teamed with Felix Leiter's daughter Cedar to find out more about the return of SPECTRE. More fleshed-out villains, a great Bond girl (who Bond can't go after due to her father), and exciting, suspenseful writing make one realize how underrated Gardner's books are. One of his best.
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FOR SPECIAL SERVICES reads like a movie
Rating  (2)
Date: 2000-09-28
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
This was John Gardner's second James Bond novel and it was an improvement over his first. He resurrects SPECTRE in this one. The American military depicted in this book seems strangely reminiscent to the depiction in "Goldfinger." It was a little like déjà vu, nothing specific. It was almost like a wisp of memory.My real objection in this book is James Bond's relationship with Felix Leiter's daughter. I think Ian Fleming would have objected.
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